Kicking and Screaming
by amenti3
Summary: Scorpius is the same. So why is it that Rose finds herself drawn to the silly boy that has always been obsessed to her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of this. Except the plot. Read and review and my love will forever be yours.

 **Chapter 1**

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He smiled, waved. Rose rolled her eyes but was unable to stop the quirk in her lips. He noticed and his grin widened. She felt her ears turning red and cursing her unbearable hereditary trait, she turned her head. Idiot. Of course he would notice. She walked to her compartment and sat, waiting for Lily and Hugo. And of course Scorpius. He'd pop in. He always did. Tagging behind Albus, who would be looking irritated and grumpy and saying hello only for the sake of formality/ Scorpius say something stupid, she would glare and he'd leave and that would be the end of that.

He grew a bit she noticed. She didn't like noticing. But he had. And he'd started playing Quidditch. Which meant he had filled out slightly. Gotten a little taller. _Cuter._ She shuddered. But he had. And other girls were starting to notice as well. Rose had always assumed she would have been massively relieved at this fact. Elated. Excited. Exalted. Exuberant. Instead she found herself irritated. "IT'S SCORPIUS," she wanted to shout at the lingering looks of these girls. "You know, gangly awkward, Scorpius, the one that never quite manages to leave me be. THAT ONE. Not this weird, slightly handsome, awkward one who plays quidditch."

She was startled from her thoughts with the door sliding open. Lily and Hugo entered laughing, arms packed with sweets. They dumped them on the table and began to rummage through. She grabbed a chocolate frog when the door opened again. It was Albus and Scorpius. Albus stood awkwardly, though slightly more at ease than normal. With Lily around, he always relaxed a little.

"Well grab one," Lily said to him. Albus moved to pick up a handful of Bertie Bott's beans. "You too, Scorpius." He looked to Lily, having only realized she was also in the compartment. Rose, her eyes perpetually rolling in Scorpius's presence, rolled them again. He flashed Lily a smile and to Rose's utter and complete horror, Lily's cheeks flushed pink and she lowered her eyes. Rose glanced over to Albus who looked appropriately horrified, glancing between his best friend and his sister, and there was Scorpius, unwrapping a chocolate frog oblivious to it all. Git.

"Do you want to sit?" Lily asked, _**shyly**_ _._

"NO!" shouted both Rose and Albus, while in unison was a "Sure!" came from Scorpius who slid down to sit next to Lily. Albus and Rose looked at each other, and for the first time in a very long time, they bonded over the atrocity of it all. Lily, if possible, had turned even redder and became very quiet. Hugo, busy munching on his cauldron cakes, clearly his father's son, had not noticed a thing. Albus, Rose and Scorpius were left - the observant ones, Scorpius with his daft smile pointed at Rose, Albus with a pinched grimace staring at his sister, and Rose, her ears red and eyes trying to meet anything other than Scorpius.

"So, Rose," Scorpius began, "How was your summer?"

"Fine." she responded, coldly.

"And Lily, how about you?" he asked, turning to her. Her face had just returned to the normal color, but Rose saw the red tipped ears - a Weasley curse if ever there was one.

"You were around for most of it." responded Lily with a smile. Lily was dazzling when she smiled. Scorpius smiled back and for a second Rose was furious.

"Yeah Scorpius, do you not have a life outside the Potter's", Rose snapped at him. "I would think your dad would be lonely what with your mother not around." Her eyes widened when she realized what she had said, and a dreadful feeling of shame and embarrassment overtook her. Albus and Lily looked at her with a mixture of shock and disgust, but it was Scorpius's look that gave her an unbearable pang. He looked disappointed, hurt and yet he smiled at her.

"Very true." he replied, forcing a jovial one. "I've been a dreadful son. The Potter's are irresistible," he continued with a wink at Lily.

"Scorpius," she started, beginning an apology, but he stood up interrupting. "Oh, the trolley lady, excuse me" and walked out of the compartment. Albus stood to leave, gave Rose a thoroughly deserved glare and walked behind his friend.

"That was entirely unnecessary, Rose" said Lily, as she stood to trail after her brother.

Only Hugo, still munching on his cauldron cakes was left. "You probably shouldn't have said that." he said with his mouth full of cake.

"Shut up, Hugo" she snapped. He shrugged and continued eating.

This was a bad start to the new year.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just the plot. Reviews are my crack. So please. Keep them coming.

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 **Chapter 2**

Things were awkward. That was the best way to describe it. Slightly awkward. It had been a week since they had returned to Hogwarts, and everything was slightly off. Lily was no longer around - always with Albus and Scorpius. She would be at their table, studying with them, by the lake with them, eating dinner with them. It left Rose feeling very alone. She had always been closest to Lily.

Scorpius was different. She hadn't been able to find him on the train to apologize. And then classes started, and the duo turned trio was never apart long enough for her to speak to him privately. Of course, she thought bitterly, the one time in my life I need to speak to him, I can't catch him alone. She would catch his eye from time to time, and he'd give her a smile, the same as always but it wasn't the same. Dimmed. Not as playful. Not as moony.

She felt disgusted at herself. Why did she need him to be moony. He was finally moving on. He asked her out. She said no. She told him not to make it weird. Now she was making it weird.

Lost in thought, she didn't realize when she stumbled into someone's back. "Oh" she started, staring at her cousin. "Hey Albus." He gave her a nod. "Where's your other half?" she asked realizing for the first time since they were back in Hogwarts, she had not seen the pair together.

"Off with Lily" he mumbled, scowling. Rose nodded, understanding. "I like having her around, it isn't that," he paused, gathering his thoughts, "it's the fact she's around - _all of the time._ "

"Well," said Rose slowly, realizing for the first time in quite a long time, she was having a normal conversation with her most difficult cousin, "I think she fancies him." The him in the situation was understood. Albus blanched, his face turning a faint green.

"Oh bloody hell. I thought I'd been imagining it" he said. "She's always blushing. Always. And Scorp, the git, has no idea, always going on about you" Albus paused looking at her. Her ears were turning red again. "You really shouldn't have said that about his mum."

Rose's eyes welled with tears, surprising both her and Albus who immediately looked all sorts of uncomfortable. "Look, I'm sorry" she began - "It was a terrible thing to say, I have no idea why on earth I said it and I just wasn't feeling myself and I want to apologize but I've hardly seen him all week - he's either with you and Lily and I can't very well go up to him and say 'oh I'm sorry for bringing up your dead mother'". To her horror, tears began spilling out of her eyes and Albus, petrified, moved towards her. He raised his hand and then stared at it, unsure of what to do. Usually when Lily cried, she would be so livid she would threaten bodily damage to anyone who tried to comfort her, but Rose was not Lily. He patted her on the head. Rose laughed despite herself. "I'm not a dog, Albus." He immediately removed his hand, turning a faint shade of pink. Rose, feeling a rush of affection for her cousin, threw her arms around him. "Oh Al," she said laughing, "you really can be wonderful."

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As if the universe had decided to be merciful for only a moment, Rose spotted Scorpius in the library. He was alone and buried in a book, she let herself observe him in peace. His hair was longer, he'd gained an easy confident air. Even while reading. His shoulders were broader and his arms looked like arms of a _**man.**_ This was new. He had always been so scrawny. She remembered when she had towered over him in second year, and now even sitting, she could see how tall he'd gotten. Somehow between the adventures of last year and this - he'd gone from being Albus Potter's friend, Voldemort's secret love child, to something else. Rose was uncomfortable with it all. She was her father's daughter. She didn't like change. She didn't like the change in dynamics. Everyone belonged in a box. Scorpius was threatening to leave his box. She couldn't have that. But that was hardly a reason to be so cruel.

She cleared her throat. Scorpius flinched and looked up slowly. When he saw Rose, his face broke into a smile.

"I thought you were Lily", he said sounding relieved.

"No, just me." she replied, all of a sudden feeling very nervous. "Scorpius, I want to apologize." He looked at her, puzzled. "About what I said on the train," she paused and looked down at her feet "I know it's been a while, but I'm sorry about your mum."

"Thanks, Rose." he responded softly.

"And I know I said it would be weird, only if you made it weird, but maybe I've made it weird, and perhaps we can just both make it not weird," she felt herself flush, aware of her rambling, "what I'm trying to say is that, maybe we can be friends." She looked up to see a broad grin on his face. " _ **Friends**_ ," she emphasized, smiling back. "Don't get any ideas."

"Wouldn't dream of it." he responded.


End file.
